Greenwash Watch: Heinz Farmers' Market Soup Isn't

It started at a farmers' market in Stroud, and happened in the Thames Valley too. Local producers spotted Heinz Farmers' Market soups which claimed to use "selected ingredients inspired by a farmers' market." But they say that this is false advertising and that the company has hijacked the idea of farmers' markets and is mis-using it for commercial gain. As one said "Everything is fresh and local at farmers' markets - and that soup is neither. There's no reason for Heinz to be using the name Farmers' Markets - they are nothing to do with farmers' markets."

The national organisation representing over 500 farmers' markets in the UK say that labelling the soup "Farmers' Market" is a blatant exploitation of what a real farmers' market is all about. The usual understanding of a farmers' market is that the products on sale have been grown, reared, caught, or cooked by the stall holder within a 30 mile radius. Heinz is just cashing in on the name. Some Members of Parliament have agreed that this is crass commercialization and have passed a motion condemning Heinz. Others are asking supermarkets to remove it from their shelves.

Heinz says the soups are made with ingredients grown on British farms and the term is not copyrighted or registered. :: Financial Times